Spirit North ambassador and Cree Chief Wilton Littlechild believes that sport is a great teacher of life skills, a foundation for life and a formula for success. The key to success being balance of the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. Once he found balance in sport, Littlechild says he learned its applicability to any other endeavour in life.

For Indigenous children and youth there is no more important opportunity than that of taking part in holistic sport and experiencing its many benefits. Beyond physical activity there are the benefits of involvement, participation and leadership, belief in oneself and one’s ability to do something positive—all fundamental to the success formula.

Through greater encouragement of participation Littlechild feels that we can both improve equality for Indigenous children and youth and advance reconciliation—underscoring the importance of applying underlying principles from the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) as a framework for reconciliation. Littlechild also acknowledges the distinct role of sport in reconciliation. In fact, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report includes five calls to action dedicated specifically to sport. “Sport has the power to bring people together and get people working together, and that’s all about reconciliation,” says the former commissioner.

For Littlechild, the beauty of sport is in the spirit—sometimes winning, learning from losing, and re-instilling a positive winning spirit into any part of life. Sport can restore hope and happiness, and positive hope for the future is Littlechild’s wish for today and tomorrow’s Indigenous children and youth.

Chief Wilton (Willie) Littlechild is a member of the Ermineskin Cree Nation, is an inductee in Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, is a lawyer, was Grand Chief of The Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations, was a Commissioner for Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission and was Canada’s first Treaty First Nation’s person to be a Member of Parliament.